By Maurice Ali, President/CEO: International Association of Independent Journalists Inc.

Maurice Ali

I am pleased to announce that the International Association of Independent Journalists Inc. has been granted consultative status in the special category by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. Status for IAIJ was granted on July 25 (2016) and official confirmation was emailed to us on July 26 (2016) and a copy of the letter can be seen using the link below:

Therefore, on behalf of myself (Maurice Ali) as President of IAIJ, the Board of Directors and the general membership; we would like thank the Committee Chair of the Committee on NGOs, the Acting Chief of the NGO Branch, the Secretariat and the Member States that comprise the Committee on NGOs for their recommendation for consultative status and the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations for the granting of consultative status. We at IAIJ pledge to adhere to the highest standards of comportment while involved in UN activities and to help the United Nations fulfill its mandate.

For those of you not familiar with what consultative status is, we offer the following excerpts from the UN handbook titled: “Working with ECOSOC: An NGOs Guide to Consultative Status” (Copyright 2011, United Nations, New York):

What is consultative status?

‘Consultative status is an accreditation framework that benefits both the United Nations and the NGOs. As stated by resolution 1996/31: “... Consultative arrangements are to be made, on the one hand, for the purpose of enabling the Council or one of its bodies to secure expert information or advice from organizations having special competence in the subjects for which consultative arrangements are made, and, on the other hand, to enable international, regional, sub-regional and national organizations that represent important elements of public opinion to express their views”. — ECOSOC resolution 1996/31, part II, paragraph 20”

Why would my NGO want consultative status?

“ECOSOC provides NGOs the opportunity to be heard by a truly global audience and contribute to its agenda. An NGO with consultative status can:
» Attend international conferences and events;
» Make written and oral statements at these events;
» Organize side events;
» Enter United Nations premises;
» Have opportunities to network and lobby.

For instance, by having consultative status, an NGO could:
» Provide expert analysis on issues directly from its experience in the field;
» Serve as an early warning agent;
» Help monitor and implement international agreements;
» Help raise public awareness of relevant issues;
» Play a major role in advancing United Nations goals and objectives;
» Contribute with essential information at organization events. On the other hand, ECOSOC provides NGOs the opportunity to be heard by a truly global audience and contribute to its agenda. An NGO with consultative status can:
» Attend international conferences and events;
» Make written and oral statements at these events;
» Organize side events;
» Enter United Nations premises;
» Have opportunities to network and lobby.”

Events participation
“NGOs that are accredited with ECOSOC can participate in a number of events, including, but not limited to, the regular sessions of ECOSOC, its functional commissions and its other subsidiary bodies. At these sessions, which usually take place once a year, NGOs may:
» Attend official meetings; » Submit written statements prior to sessions;
» Make oral statements;
» Meet official government delegations and other NGO representatives;
» Organize and attend parallel events that take place during the session;
» Participate in debates, interactive dialogues, panel discussions and informal meetings.”

Human Rights Council
“The Human Rights Council (HRC) is the principal United Nations intergovernmental body responsible for human rights. It is composed of 47 Member States, and meets for at least three sessions each year in Geneva, Switzerland. Its role includes addressing violations of human rights, including gross and systematic violations, the promotion of respect for human rights for all, and effective coordination and mainstreaming of human rights within the UN system. During a given session (regular sessions) the Council considers the activities of its subsidiary human rights procedures and mechanisms, and may organize panel discussions and special events to enhance dialogue and mutual understanding on specific issues. Outside its normal sessions, the Council may also hold special sessions related to country-specific or thematic issues. Even though this body is not subsidiary of ECOSOC, only NGOs in consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council can be accredited to participate in the Human Rights Council’s sessions as observers.
As observers, NGOs are able, among other things, to:
» Attend and observe all proceedings of the Council with the exception of the Council deliberations under the Complaints Procedure;
» Submit written statements to the Human Rights Council;
» Make oral interventions to the Human Rights Council;
» Participate in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) which involves a review of the human rights records of all 192 United Nations Member States once every four years;
» Participate in debates, interactive dialogues, panel discussions and informal meetings;
» Organize “parallel events” on issues relevant to the work of the Human Rights Council.”

United Nations grounds pass
“United Nations grounds pass Each NGO in consultative status with ECOSOC can designate representatives to obtain annual passes granting them access to UN premises, which are valid until 31 December of each year. A maximum of five such passes for each NGO can be issued for New York, five for Geneva and five for Vienna, in addition to passes for the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and the President or Chief Executive of each NGO, for a total of seven passes.”

Written statements
“For written statements to ECOSOC, the number of words for submission depends on the type of consultative status the NGO has. According to resolution 1996/31, the word count for statements is limited to the following:
» For those in general consultative status: a maximum of 2,000 words
» For those in special consultative status: a maximum of 500 words”

Oral statements
“Oral statements As stated in resolution 1996/31, organizations with general or special consultative status have the option of presenting an oral statement at the ECOSOC annual meeting either at the United Nations in New York or the United Nations Office in Geneva, depending on where it is held in a particular year. The Council’s annual meetings alternate between these two cities. Only one oral statement is allowed for each organization.”

Organize your own event at the United Nations
“Organize your own event at the United Nations NGOs frequently have the option of organizing a side event that is related to a main event organized by an ECOSOC functional commission. If you would like to organize a side event, you must contact the organizer of the particular event in the respective ECOSOC functional committee and discuss your idea with them. If selected, you will then be asked to coordinate your event with that office.”